Listed Measurements: 6-foot-2 1/8, 220 pounds2018-19 year, eligibility: A junior, Morgan has three seasons of eligibility remaining including 2018.Depth chart: Morgan was one of three safeties to move forward defensively to linebacker this spring, but in doing so, his playing prospects did not inherently spike as the other two’s did. Morgan remains behind fifth-year Buck linebacker Drue Tranquill and sophomore Jordan Genmark-Heath, not to mention the looming chances of early-enrolled freshman Jack Lamb.Recruiting: A rivals.com four-star recruit, Morgan committed to Notre Dame rather than Arizona State, Cal or Colorado, among others. His primary Sun Devil recruiter was Del Alexander, now the Irish receivers coach. Rivals rated Morgan the No. 23 safety in the class of 2016 and the No. 47 prospect in California.

CAREER TO DATEMorgan has seen action in a total of two games after preserving a year of eligibility as a freshman in 2016. In the second of those, a blowout of Miami (OH), Morgan made his two career tackles, one on the second-half’s opening kickoff and one to close the third quarter on a fourth-and-six. It should be noted: Morgan stopped RedHawks quarterback Gus Ragland short of the line to gain.

QUOTE(S)The only mention of Morgan this spring came the day before spring practices commenced when Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was listing possible depth options at rover. In time Morgan and his 11 pounds gained in the offseason made more sense further toward the interior.

WHAT WAS PROJECTED A YEAR AGO“An inability to climb this particular safety depth chart puts a rather staunch ceiling on Morgan’s short-term future. [Former] Irish defensive coordinator Mike Elko is desperate for a contributor on the defensive backline. The opportunity is there, and was all spring, yet Morgan did not force himself into the conversation.

“With that in mind, Notre Dame special teams coordinator Brian Polian will undoubtedly be happy to have a physical player at his disposal. Morgan should contribute on special teams this year. That is not necessarily a sentence to irrelevance. If he makes some plays in that third of the game, Elko and Kelly will have to take notice.”

2018 OUTLOOKMorgan’s only genuine chance at competitive use this season is on special teams. While he never quite took off in that role last year, the opportunity is still very much there and the Irish would be thrilled to find a reliable kickoff and punt coverage specialist.

Notre Dame’s coverage units have been better than often described, but they are by no means a recent strength. In that regard, Morgan could make himself a valued contributor.

DOWN THE ROADThe arrival of Lamb and fellow early-enrolled freshman linebacker Bo Bauer cloud Morgan’s move to linebacker from safety, but the parallel additions of early-enrolled freshman Houston Griffith and consensus four-star recruit Derrik Allen at safety made the position switch a necessary one. Nonetheless, it is hard to envision a scenario where Morgan stays ahead of both Lamb and Bauer.

It is still early in Morgan’s career, but a path to playing time in the long view is as difficult to navigate as one is in 2018 when a two-time captain starts ahead of him.